5 comments about A Parrot for Life: Raising and Training the Perfect Parrot Companion.

1. I have read at least 5 books on parrot behavior getting ready for my African Grey to come home and this is by far the most informative. It is like going over details with a real person rather than cold and impersonal with dry facts only. I recommend for any new or experienced parrot person. Great illustrations also.



2. I am owned by a male Eclectus parrot. This book is written for a bird hobbiest in terms that are easy to understand. I have gained more understanding of what makes my parrot tick.



3. It's easy to place this book on any parront's list of must-haves. Well written, well laid out and full of the best information regarding keeping parrots as pets. If you want to set the parrot-person relationship up for success, this book gives you the tools to do it!
   
   Chapters include: Choosing the Right Parrot, Setting Up Space, Nutrition, Adjusting to Your New Parrot and Vice Versa, Behavior and Training, as well as Caring for Your Parrot Over a Lifetime.
   
   Another bonus to this book? It travels well! This is especially useful for behavior consultants, veterinarians and anyone else who assists people with their birds.
   
   I've told my students that I've been waiting a long time for a book of this caliber, and this piece has delivered, plus some! It's not just for the newly bird smitten, it's for those who have lived or worked with parrots for many years as well. It is also a useful tool for animal shelter/humane society staff.
   
   Definitely belongs on your gift giving list this holiday season for all your parrot loving friends, those who are interested in birds, and those who help the avian community. It's such a beautiful and useful tool, please consider donating a copy to your local animal shelter!



4. This book should come with every parrot adopted. I bought the book not only for the advice and information, but because it's filled with fun, colorful illustrations. I love the ideas for making easy, inexpensive parrot toys in the chapter called "Bringing Home Baby." Good luck with your new buddy.



5. I own most parrot books available and certainly all books available since year 2000. They are mostly good but very similar.....
   A Parrot for Life is, not only a beautiful book to compliment your library, it is different in that it prepares you for events which more than likely will happen and for changes which are also bound to occur when you choose to share your life with one of these beautiful long lived creatures.
   Not only is it a Godsend for those planning to bring a companion parrot into their life....
   This book is special and unique and I feel it will help parrot owners going through that 'what have I done' stage, help them to get past that and fall in love all over again gaining a deeper relationship with the parrot they chose as their companion.
   This book will help you to realise you don't have to be a failure and to make friends again with your companion.
   Own this book and open your eyes.
   With respect..
   Jan

1 comments about The Duck Handbook (Barron's Pet Handbooks).

1. Good information for a new owner. Our duck, "Q", gives the book 5 feathers.

2 comments about Swan Keeper's Handbook: A Guide to the Care of Captive Swans.

1. There is not a lot of material devoted entirely to keeping swans, and this experienced group of people really stepped up and created one. It's well written, answers all the basic questions and many fine points and beautifully illustrated. Thank you for this reference! I shall certainly include in my next book, How to Raise Poultry, to follow How To Raise Chickens: Everything You Need To Know (How to Raise...).



2. I have read this book cover-to-cover several times. I bought the book about a year before getting my first pair of swans. I have learned so much about keeping and caring for swans. The books is a complete, comprehensive guide. There are many pictures, which adds to its usefulness. Since getting my swans, I have referred to the book. We are hoping to have our first babies in the spring. I feel I have been well-prepared for this event!

5 comments about Complete Book of Parakeet Care, The (Barron's N).

1. This is a good parakeet ownership book for beginner parakeet owners, but some information seems to be outdated. I had questions after reading the book that were not answered in the text.



2. We bought five parakeet care books after looking at a bunch of them. Of the five, this is the best.
   
   The information is extensive, accurate, and up to date. The glossy photos are great. Most of the stuff we have learned in our intense initiation is contained in this book. This remains our go-to resource for parakeet questions.



3. Matthew Vriends, consulting editor for THE COMPLETE BOOK OF PARAKEET CARE and a Veterinary and Bird Breeder from the Netherlands has written many books on Companion Parrots, as have authors Annette Wolter and Monika Wegler. Their book about parakeets really covers the "betcherrygah" or budgie, a type of Australian parakeet, and includes much more material than any of the other parakeet books I've read to date, and I believe it deserves the sobriquet `comprehensive'. The book includes a good deal of the information found in other books by Vriends and Wolters on basic bird care and breeding, as well as much specific information about parakeets or budgies divulged by Wolter and Wegler who appear to keep companion parakeets or budgies indoors (Vriends raises birds in an outdoor aviary).
   
   The book includes dozens of beautiful photos and sections covering parakeets and human children, setting up parakeet accommodations for a pair (they hate to live alone) health care and diet, breeding and baby bird care. The photos show the various colors of budgies generated by breeders like Vriends as well as action shots of budgies in all phases of living in your home - from flying around a `bird-proof' room to courting rituals with a mate. The authors have created a `check list' the potential parakeet owner can use to determine if he or she can live with the requirements of keeping a companion budgie. Among other things, they stress that parakeets are probably better off spending more time outside the cage than in it, so if you are thinking about living with a parakeet you should consider whether or not you can put up with with the occasional bird dropping from a soaring feathered friend. Photos and text describe how to build a bird tree from which your birds can use to launch their explorations as well as return to enjoy a tasty snack of various vegetables and/or fruits.
   
   If you can buy only one parakeet (budgie) book get this book before you buy your parakeet. The book is suitable for children ages 6-8 or older as it includes text in 10p. font and plenty of photos describing budgie behavior.



4. We bought a couple of parakeets for our 11 year old daughter (a real Southern Belle). The birds and book were a birthday present and knowing absolutely nothing about them, this book has been a great help. Our daughter read it and enjoyed it. Easy to read, for all ages. It helped us buy the cage, the toys, and the birds' nutrition and so on... She still reads it when she has a question (as we do also). It helped us when organizing our home decoration and candles to fit the flights of the birds. Being in a small southern town away from pet stores, we refer to this book often. Gurley Community & Town History http://gurleyalabama.contactez.net



5. Overall the book is okay.
   The playtree idea was very helpful in constructing the massive tree I now have, the pictures are beautiful, and there's a lot of interesting trivia.

   HOWEVER, some of the advice given in this book is outdated and is now known to be rather dangerous.

   1) The offering of grit. Budiges, and other hookbilled parrots, do NOT need grit as part of their diet, as they hull their seeds. If they are on a formulated diet they also do not need grit. Grit offered to these birds can cause crop impactions and death. Given that it's not necessary for digestion, there is no reason to use it.

   2) Sandpaper perches. Big NO! Sandpaper perches are very hard on the feet and do not "keep nails trim". Sandpaper perches are one of the big causes of bumblefoot.

   3) The use of "bird sand"...see grit.

   4) The implication that clipping a bird's wings is cruel. The risks associated with free flight far outweigh the risks associated with clipping. Flighted birds are more likely to become injured by flying into walls, mirrors, windows, doors, etc..true, they may know the house layout, but if something should spook them and they take off in a panic, they are literally flying blind.
   Full flight also carries the risk of escape; being nomadic birds, budgies have no homing instinct. Once your budgie flies away, your chances of seeing it alive again are next to zero.
   The biggest risk of clipping is the bird being accidentally stepped on, but if you keep your bird off the floor (and you should) this isn't an issue.

   5) The advocation of a mainly seed or seed only diet. Seed only diets are dangerous to the point of being lethal in the terms of long term health. Budgies, when well cared for and on a good diet, can easily live 10-15 years. On a poor diet, cut that in half for the average lifespan.

   For more information on any of the above:
   http://budgies-n-tiels.com

   When this book was written in 1994, much of the now erroneous information was thought to be correct. Avian medical science has proven a lot of it very, dangerously wrong since the time this book was published.

2 comments about Taming and Training Your First Budgerigar.

1. Greetings...here's a real review for Risa Tetler's Taming and Training Your First Budgerigar. (also known to Americans as the Parakeet.) Her simple and easy-to-understand training method for these smart and crafty little birdies is very practical and can be followed by anyone with a desire to learn more about their behavior, and how we as pet owners should best interact with them. At this writing, I have 4 parakeets and I use this book along with other bird books, but I think I like Ms. Tetler's training method best. This book is priced low enough that it should be easily available to any parakeet/budgerigar owner, of any age. Her other books are also very helpful, especially the African Grey book if you are interested. Remember, though that every parakeet is different in temperment, and your success in training them will depend on your degree of patience as well as your pet's tolerance level for being handled and played with. Good Luck to all bird owners out there!



2. i love this boo

3 comments about Taming and Training Conures.

1. This book was probably good for the time it was written (1981, according to the copyright), but it is really substandard in light of nearly 2 decades of further research into bird behavior. The first half of the book is about choosing a bird, caging and nutritional requirements, and grooming (wing and nail clipping). The remainder of the book is a cursory look at basic taming (of wild-caught birds, which isn't really an issue since importing birds has been outlawed for several years), and a brief explanation of how to train. If you want a good resource for training, you'd be better off with a more current book on behavior modification (try Mattie Sue Athan's books, for example). This book is mis-titled, and should not pretend to be a real "training" book. On the bright side, it has quite a few wonderful pictures of conures.



2. This was a good book, however there was more a theatrical feel for the type of training that was covered. Also, it didn't really cover many types of training, more accurately, it suggesting what could be done--often telling you ways of playing up natural instinctive behaviors, verses training new behaviors. Philosophically I didn't agree with much of the approach used, but as with many things, it is how you view your relationship with your companion bird. A good addition to your library in any event. These birds are complex and all of the information you can find should be read.



3. excellent book! It gives you a lot of good advice to train your new bird pet.

4 comments about Taming and Training Cockatoos.

1. This is a well written book for the beginner Cockatoo owner. It has a lot of information that is important to know. Cockatoos are very different from the Macaws that I already own....which came as a surprise to me. I have not yet purchased a baby Cockatoo.....and after reading this book, I am not sure they are the bird for me. Just like I prefer Mules to horses.....and they are very different from eachother. If you are considering a Cockatoo......this is great reading. Enjoy!



2. This book don't have much on how to train your bird.It only tell you a few starter points if your bird is wild. Mostly has pictures of different type of cockatoos and telling about them, It also has about clipping wings and nails. If you want the basic of two steps in tamining and training this is the book for you. Too me the title don't go with this book !!



3. This book is a big waste of money! Personaly, I'm VERY supprised anyone published it! It doesn't tell you anything but what you already know from common sense, and it is extreamly repetive. It seems like the author didn't have enough things to say so she repeated herself so the book would be longer. Please don't waste your money on it!



4. Although it seemed that the photographer favored the Palm Cockatoo, all of the pictures were excellent. As to the rest of the book, I was very discourraged. There was only a short and very concise section at the end of the book that delt with "Taming and Training Cockatoos."

2 comments about Backyard Bird Watching for Kids: How to Attract, Feed, and Provide Homes for Birds.

1. This is by far the best book for children and families on attracting birds to your yard. Chock-full of information that is presented in an appealing manner, this book covers a wide range of material to help children and families get started with backyard bird watching. Some of the more unique sections are a directory of plants providing food for birds, a table showing the types of seeds and food eaten by various bird species. There are lots of good color photos, and a variety of projects for children.



2. This is a neat book. I learned alot about what to feed the birds. I liked the pictures.

5 comments about First Aid For Birds: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet.

1. Two weeks ago on a Saturday morning, I found blood all over one of my Cockatiels. I now know that he had pecked at a feather abscess which had burst and splattered its contents everywhere. THE COMPLETE BIRD OWNER'S HANDBOOK by Gallerstein provided me with the information I needed so that I could determine if the bleeding was life-threatening (such as a broken blood feather), and whether I could treat it. This information allowed me to wait until the following Monday to have my bird seen by a bird vet who performed surgery on the cyst and ran several tests (biopsy, etc. to make sure it was not something that would kill my other birds) -- thus a $300+ vet bill instead of something much worse in at emergency service. I bought FIRST AID FOR BOOKS after this incident thinking it would provide me with additional insight into bird health situations, but it does not. Though more accessible, FIRST AID is a synopsis of some of the more common crises discussed in the larger book by Gallerstein.
   
   In FIRST AID FOR BIRDS, Julie Rach and Gary Gallerstein explain that their book addressed the immediate steps to take in selected health crises (no feather abscesses here). Each topic covered is divided into several parts: the crises (for example fracture), the signs (leg hanging at a funny angle), home treatment (confine bird....), Veterinary treatment. (The book will help the bird owner figure out some steps to take in a selected crises, but the owner should read the larger Gallerstein book before a crises arises.
   
   FIRST AID deals with some of the more common upsets covered in any good bird book, so I did not find any information I did not already have on hand, except a list of possible sources of lead poisoning including items like curtain weights - and believe me I am not going to try to figure out what poisoned my bird if he or she acts as if poison is at work, I am going to seek medical help immediately.
   
   FIRST AID (the book) is mostly about prevention - how to follow a proper diet and eschew household hazards. As I already had a good deal of this information on hand in other sources, I found this book disappointing. It would have been more useful if it had provided me with "triage" information to address various crises, i.e. what do you look for in a bleeding bird, i.e., what signs help you determine if bleeding is the result of a broken blood feather, an abscess (I had never seen a feather abscess), or something else, and what to do in each case.
   
   HOLISTIC CARE FOR BIRDS by McCluggage and Higdon addresses home remedies as well as preventative measures and is thus acts as a complentary book with much greater detail on the home remedies offered in FIRST AID. Gallerstein's larger book includes photographs of pus filled abscesses and other groovy stuff, so you will want to buy all three books if you can, but FIRST AID FOR BIRDS will get you started.



2. Most of the information in this book was right on for treating avian injuries. It had good suggestions for preparing an emergency kit and for acquainting a pet lover of what situations may arise when their bird is injured.

   However, one piece of information was very very wrong and it upset me to read it in an otherwise fine piece of avian literature. On page 112 it advocates packing a blood feather with styptic powder which is painful for the bird because styptic powder should NEVER be applied to live tissue. This worries me because there might be other errors in the text that may ultimately be painful, dangerous, or even deadly to a pet bird.

   This book is OK for reading through to familiarize yourself with bird injuries and how to treat them, but because it lacks a detailed index and a scant chapter listing, it may not be helpful in an emergency unless you have dog-eared the book for your bird's most frequent health issues. It is also a poor reference for this reason.

   However, compared to relying on unreliable websites, this book is arguably a better option.




3. This book is a must-have for all bird owners! Buy and read it to familiarize yourself with first aid procedures and then stash it as a quick reference if your bird should fall ill or have an accident. This book is a well-organized reference for what you can do to help stabilize your bird before you go to the vet in an emergency. It also tells you what problems are emergencies and must be treated without delay and what problems can wait a day or two.



4. Accidents and illness do happen to birds, be preparded and know what to do should someting happen to you pet bird. This book is loaded with helpfull information.



5. This is an excellent book. It gives first-aid kit suggestions, discusses normal bird health, and gives a list of symptoms with suggested treatments and when to call the vet. Our local library has this book and I found it very helpful. It is in a series of pet books, all of which are pretty good. A great addition to any bird-owner or bird-lover's library!

No comments about The Guide to Owning a Dove (Guide to Owning).